Child of the Hunt
by Cecilia Green
Summary: Diana Louis always knew she was special, and when she's suddenly attacked by the guest speaker coming to her school and brought to Camp Half-Blood, she finally finds a place where she belongs. But little does she know that she's actually the first of her kind, and that her existance is a sign that the world could be ending as we know it. Set between Percy Jackson and Heroes.
1. Prologue

**Child of the Hunt**

**by Cecilia Green**

**Prologue**

Percy says he knows what it's like. He says that he wasn't supposed to be born, either, and thus wasn't the most popular for a while either. I say, "Quit talking bull to me."

Nobody knows what it's like. Sure, Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades all swore on the River Styx not to have any kids, but really, when has that ever worked out? I mean, am I seriously the only one who notices that gods break those "unbreakable oaths" all the time?

See, that's how I'm different. My parent didn't make any bull-crap River Styx oath. They are defined by this rule: no kids. Not ever. That's why nobody likes me. That's why everyone's trying to kill me. It's because I am seriously a mistake in the universe, and that mistake could mean the utter destruction of every living thing in this reality.

So, no, Percy. You don't know what it's like. No one will ever know what it's like. No one will know what it's like for the hunter to suddenly become the hunted. Not like this, anyway.

This is my story. This is how I came to realize my power, and my curse.


	2. Recruitment

**Chapter 1: Recruitment**

Normally, I ate dinner by myself. My dad works late every night. Every now and again, he came home early and we ended up ordering Chinese or something, but most of the time, it was come home, do my homework, make myself dinner, and go to bed.

Other than those few nights where we got to eat together, I caught a glimpse of him every morning. He had just enough time to kiss me on the forehead and point out where he'd set my breakfast before rushing out the door in his relaxed pants and button-up shirt with his work bag slung over his shoulder. Sometimes I'd wonder what he was doing at work. He said he was a construction worker, but I always knew he was lying. He dressed too nicely for that. But then again, he also didn't dress nice enough to work in a cubicle in an office. Really, I never questioned it that much until the strangers came to my house.

It was after school, and I was just bouncing up and down because this was one of the nights that Dad would come home early. It was his birthday, and I wanted to surprise him with dinner already made. I'd just finished setting out the plates when I heard a knock at the door. Elated, I rushed over there, not even pausing to think it was strange that Dad knocked instead of just coming inside.

I paused at the door, taking a deep breath before finally opening it. "Happy birth…day," I said, my voice losing some of its enthusiasm as I realized that it wasn't my Dad who was at the door.

There were two people. One was a boy, with light, curly brown hair and an elfish smile. His brown eyes had a humorous glimmer to them. He was tall and skinny, and he looked like he could've been 16 or 17. The girl was younger, though not by much. She also had brown hair, though it was darker and straight. It was pulled into a ponytail, allowing me to get a good look at her face. It was angular and tanned, like she got a lot of time out in the sun. Her eyes were almond-shaped and stormy gray, and they bore into mine with such intensity that it made me shift uncomfortably.

"Hello," said the boy pleasantly. "Is this the home of Diana Louis?" His tone was casual, friendly, but there was an eagerness hidden in there. At times like these, my dad usually told me to slam the door and call the police, but something kept me in my place.

I broke eye contact with the gray-eyed girl and looked at the boy. "Yes," I said slowly.

"Great!" he said. "Can we come in?"

I drew the line of danger at this point. It was bad enough that I was continuing conversation with these strangers, but inviting them inside was just too much. "No," I said.

"Oh, um… We don't mean you any harm. We just want to talk," said the boy. He obviously wasn't prepared for my caution, and he looked uncomfortable just standing outside on my doorstep.

"Whatever you want to say, I'm sure you're perfectly capable of saying it outside. But please make it quick because I'm expecting someone," I said. My eyes flicked to the girl, who was still staring at me.

"Can we talk to Diana, please?" said the boy.

"I'm Diana. What do you want to tell me?"

The boy took a deep breath. It looked like he had been preparing for this, like what he was going to say next was very important. "Um… has anything strange happened to you lately? Anything that you couldn't explain?" he said carefully.

I raised an eyebrow. This was getting weird. "No," I replied coolly.

"No? Nothing at all?" He gulped. It was obvious that this wasn't going as smoothly as he had planned. He tried again. "OK, then. I don't really know how to say this, but things aren't always as they seem in your world."

"In my world?" I echoed, arching my eyebrow in amusement.

"What I mean is, people aren't always as they appear. Someone could look perfectly normal, friendly even, and end up being dangerous."

"I'll say," I said. He nodded at me, looking slightly relieved that I appeared to be following, when he realized what he just said.

"No, no," he said quickly. "We're good. I mean, we're not bad. Or dangerous. I'm just… this is a little difficult to say, but I'm trying to tell you something that could save your life."

"Not dangerous, eh?" I looked over at the girl, and my eyes dropped down to her waist, where a belt was hanging loosely on her hips. It wasn't the belt that caught my attention, but he scabbard attached to it. And what was inside the scabbard. "Not dangerous?" I said again. "Is that a sword?"

The girl started. For the first time, she said something. "You can see the sword?" she said dumbly.

"It's not exactly inconspicuous, is it?" I said. I turned back to the boy. He looked pretty miserable that this wasn't going as planned. It made me want to feel sorry for him, when I remembered that I was talking to two strangers who knew who I was, where I lived, and had brought a sword with them, expecting me not to be able to see it. There was a small possibility that they were out of their minds. "Why did you bring a sword, exactly?" I said. I tried to sound confident, but honestly, these guys were starting to freak me out. As funny as it was to watch the boy's failed attempts to get me to trust him, I could be in serious danger right now.

"The sword?" he said weakly. "Um, it's for self-defense."

"Riiiiight," I replied. "Defense from what?"

He stuttered, and I could see a bead of sweat running down the side of his face. "Sorry, maybe we got off to the wrong start. My name is Alex, and this is my friend Shelby," he started again, offering me a forced smile. I nodded.

"Well, it's been nice meeting you, Alex and Shelby. Thanks for stopping by." I started to close the door, but Alex said desperately, "Wait!"

I paused, and opened the door back up. "What?" I said.

The girl, or Shelby, I guess, looked at Alex. "Just give it up, Alex," she said. "She's not interested.

"Just wait," he said. He looked at me. "OK, there's no easy way to say this, so I'm just going to spit it out. You're not human."

I just looked at him. _Just close the door slowly and call the police_, the sensible part of my brain thought. But I remained in place. "I'm not human," I repeated. I didn't know why, but some part of me hoped that if I just kept repeating what he said to me, he'd realize how crazy he sounded and leave on his own.

Unfortunately, that didn't appear to be the case. He just kept talking. "No, you're not human. I mean, not entirely. You're also part something else, something more powerful than human," he said.

"What?" I asked. I didn't know why I kept talking to this guy, when he was obviously an escapee from some mental institution.

"You know those Greek myths? Gods, monsters, everything? Well, they're real. And you may think that you're human, but you're only half human. You're also half god, and we are, too," he continued. The way he said all of this, in such a casual way, made me uncomfortable. He actually believed what he was saying. Was he trying to make me believe it, too?

"Yes! And, see, we fight monsters. That's why we're carrying a sword." He gestured to Shelby, who definitely looked uncomfortable. She was edging slowly away from my door, knowing that this was a failed attempt.

"You fight monsters?" was all I could say. At this point, I was feeling slightly light-headed.

"Right. And you're not safe here, because monsters can smell people like us, and they can find us. So what I'm trying to say is that you should come with us to a place where our kind is safe."

I blinked several times. "So what you're saying is that you want me to go with you?" I asked. Alex nodded enthusiastically. "And where, might I ask, is this safe haven of yours?"

"New York," he said.

"We're in Virginia right now," I pointed out.

"Right."

"So you want me to travel with you over 400 miles to a camp where I'm supposed to be safe from monsters, because apparently I'm half-Greek god?" I asked.

"Yep," he said. The girl face-palmed.

I just nodded slowly. I turned to face Shelby and said, "If you're his parole officer, you're doing a terrible job."

The boy looked devastated. "So you're not coming with us?" he said. Very slowly, I turned towards him. This guy was dangerous. He was insane, and he wanted to kidnap me and take me to New York. Really, there was only one thing I could do.

"My dad is coming home soon," I said. "If you're still at my door when he gets here, I'm calling the police. With that, I slammed the door shut and continued with dinner.

* * *

"That was a disaster," Alex said to Shelby as they walked through the woods back to their chariot.

"You're telling me?" Shelby replied. "'Oh, Shelby, you're not good with people. Just let me do the talking,'" she mimicked. "At least I looked like the sane one!"

"You don't have to rub it in," he grumbled. He groaned. "My god, Annabeth is going to be furious! I totally screwed that up. She's never going to go to Camp Half-Blood now!"

"How could she see my sword?" Shelby muttered.

"My first time recruiting somebody, and I end up looking like a psycho!"

"How could she see my sword?" Shelby said again.

"I'm never going to be able to go out again! This is the end of me, Shelby. I can just about kiss my life goodbye."

"Alex!" Shelby snapped. He stopped mid-rant and looked at her. "How could she see my sword?" she said. "I focused all of the Mist I could get to make this sword invisible. How could she see it?"

"How am I supposed to know? You know I suck at manipulating the Mist."

Shelby was thinking hard. She had noticed something strange the moment Diana had opened the door. If she could see the sword, then that meant that the Mist had somehow just vanished. No, she thought. All of that Mist couldn't have left in just a second. It had to have shifted a little bit. It had to have been moved to something else. Refocused.

"Alex," she said urgently.

"What? What is it?"

"What did Diana look like?"

Alex opened his mouth to reply, but stopped, a look of confusion passing over his face. "What did she look like?" he repeated quietly. Finally, he turned back to Shelby. "I don't remember," he said in awe.

She shook her head. "Neither do I," she said.

"What does this mean?"

"I don't know," Shelby replied, "but it can't be good." She looked around. It couldn't have been more than 5 minutes, but already she was starting to forget where they had come from. She was forgetting where Diana lived.

"This is bad," she muttered. "Alex, come on!" She began to sprint through the forest, rushing to their chariot. At last, she came across a clearing, where their chariot was parked. Two pegasi were strapped to into harnesses attached to the chariot. As Shelby climbed onboard, Alex came bursting through the trees behind her.

"Shelby, what's going on?" he huffed, climbing in after her.

"We have to tell Annabeth about this before we completely forget!" Shelby shouted, grabbing the reigns and urging the pegasi to start forward. As they rose through the air, she tried desperately to hold onto the fading memories of Diana.

"What's going on, Shelby? Why are we forgetting Diana?" Alex shouted over the roar of the winds.

"The Mist is refocusing on her, trying to keep her hidden," Shelby shouted back. "Someone, or something, doesn't want her found."

* * *

**A/N: Dun dun DUUUUUUUN! Hope you guys like the chapter. I'm going to try to update weekly, but no promises. Please tell me what you think in your reviews! Constructive critisism is appreciated.**


	3. Mission

**Chapter 2: Mission**

Annabeth sat with Percy at the bottom of the canoe lake. They watched in silence as fish and hippocampi swam past the bubble that Percy had created for the two. Neither of them talked; they didn't need to. They were just the type of couple that could sit at the bottom of a lake in a giant magic bubble and be content in each other's company.

She looked up at Percy. Despite it being only two months since they hooked up, he already looked older – more like a strong, confident, leader than the seaweed-brained idiot she knew him to be. His bright orange Camp Half-Blood T shirt hid the defined abs and toned back that she knew he had, but allowed full sight of his well-muscled arms that were currently splayed out on the sandy floor as he lounged across the ground. His jaw was chiseled and defined, and his aqua-green eyes seemed to shimmer as the sunlight reflected the water around them, casting rippling beams of light onto the lake's floor. He had recently gotten his ink-black hair cropped to a shorter, manlier style. Really, he could've convinced a good number of girls that he was a male model. Until he started talking, of course.

Annabeth hugged her knees closer to her chest. Percy was the type of person she could just stare at for a while. She didn't know how long, since she knew how creepy it would look to just stare at a person for more than a couple of minutes, even if they were dating.

Suddenly, a light _plunk_ sounded from above, and she watched in mild interest as a small stone sank to the bottom of the lake, resting just a few feet away from their bubble. "Are they trying to get our attention?" she asked.

Percy shrugged. "If they want us to come up, they can use nicer methods. Let them send a Naiad or something," he said casually.

Annabeth smiled. She probably should've said something like, "We should probably go up. It might be something important," but really, she wasn't much in the mood of leaving their peaceful position in the lake. She allowed herself to give a satisfied sigh, and she rested her head against his shoulder, snuggling closer to him.

_Plunk_. Another rock hit the surface of the water and sank down to land near the first. Annabeth bit her lip. "On a scale of one to ten, how much do you think we should go up to check on them?" she said.

"Three. Now be quiet; I'm enjoying myself," Percy replied with mock annoyance. Then, he circled his arm around her and held her against his chest. She felt his heart thudding rhythmically under the soft fabric of his shirt. Its hypnotizing beat seemed to coax her into drowsiness. Annabeth closed her eyes, a warm feeling blooming in her chest. They rarely spent time together like this. Annabeth was always busy organizing camp activities, and Percy often volunteered to teach some of the newer kids sword-fighting and battle techniques. She was pretty unwilling to let this moment be interrupted.

Another _plunk_ could be heard from above. The stone this time was considerably larger, and began to fall dangerously close to their bubble. With a flick of his wrist, Percy sent the rock drifting a good ten yards away from the pair. "Their waiting," Annabeth muttered into his T shirt, only half-caring.

"Let them wait," said Percy. His voice was soft, and she felt his lips tickle her ears as he lightly kissed her cheek. Annabeth lifted her head to look into his green eyes, meeting his soft gaze. She smirked.

"You're so mean to them," she said teasingly, leaning forward. Their lips met in an electrifying kiss that made her heart flutter behind her ribs.

The moment was ruined by the _plunk plunk plunk_ of three other stones being dropped into the water. They sank closer to the couple. Percy separated himself from Annabeth, but their faces remained close to each other. "Can't they take a hint?" he muttered. Not even bothering to open his eyes, he waved his hand, scattering the three rocks around the bubble. A satisfied smile played at his lips. "Where were we?" he asked, leaning forward for another kiss.

_PLUNK_. A rock roughly the size of a football landed in the lake. This one sank faster, and landed in the middle of their bubble, instantly popping it. "Holy Zeus!" Percy shouted. Annabeth managed to suck in a mouthful of oxygen before water flooded the area. Thinking quickly, Percy raised his hand, and a thousand tiny bubbles swarmed around Annabeth, enveloping her in another air bubble. She released her breath. She was now soaking in cold water. Her eyes blazed with fury when she looked at Percy, who was a few feet away, floating in the water.

"I'm gonna kill them," she said, her voice dangerously low. Even Percy, who wasn't the subject of her anger, looked a little frightened. "Take me up," she commanded in a biting tone. Percy nodded. He raised his gaze to the surface of the lake, and they instantly shot upward. They broke the surface seconds later, and Annabeth's bubble burst. She didn't waste time swimming to the island and climbing onto the beach, with Percy close behind. Freezing wind slapped her wet skin, causing her to rub her arms in hopes of generating a bit of warmth. Percy was, naturally, dry when he emerged, but he still shivered in the cool autumn air.

Will Solace was standing further ashore with two other Apollo kids. A small pile of rocks sat next to them, ready to be thrown into the lake.

Annabeth stalked up to the archer with murder in her eyes. "What the Hades was that?" she demanded, seething. The two younger Apollo boys shrank back fearfully, but Will stood his ground.

"You were taking too long," he said, as if that was enough to explain dropping a football-sized rock on their air-bubble. He tried to sound nonchalant, but Percy could see a flicker of fear in his squinty eyes.

"_Too long_?! You could've _drowned_ me, you rodent–"

"What's going on?" Percy interrupted. Annabeth snorted, but allowed Yew to answer.

"Alex and Shelby are back," he reported. "They want to talk to you." He turned to face Annabeth.

She instantly regained her composure. She could welcome a new camper soaking wet, but soaking wet _and_ crazy-angry? She wasn't _that_ unreasonable. "Is Diana with them?" she asked. Although her tone was even, her eyes were still alight with fury.

"No."

Annabeth started. "She isn't? Did something happen?"

Michael shrugged. "I don't know. They didn't say. But they looked pretty nervous when they arrived. They really want to talk to you," he said.

Alertness sparked the back of Annabeth's mind. This couldn't be good. "Alright," she said. "I'll go see them." She prepared to walk forward, towards the cabins, but Percy's voice sounded behind her.

"Annabeth, wait," he said. She turned as Percy made his way towards her. He grasped her wrist, and the moisture began to seep out of her clothes and her hair. Soon, she was completely dry.

"Thanks," she said. She started to pull away, but Percy squeezed her wrist. She turned back to him.

"Are we going to continue are conversation later?" he asked. There was a sparkle in his eye.

Annabeth tried to keep her face expressionless, but couldn't help the smile from creeping onto her features. "Of course," she replied evenly. Percy smiled and let go of her wrist. Ignoring Michael's annoyed expression, Annabeth nodded at him to lead the way. He gestured for his two cabin mates to follow, and they were off to meet Alex and Shelby.

* * *

Annabeth liked Shelby. Although she was young (only 14 years old), she was one of the best strategists in the Athena cabin. She was always calm and focused, and it was a rare occasion that she didn't know how to respond to a situation. This was the reason why Annabeth became a little nervous when she saw her troubled expression 100 meters off. She was pacing back and forth in front of the pegasus stable, eyes shut tight in concentration. Almost like she was trying to remember something.

"What happened? Where's Alex?" Annabeth asked as soon as she was close enough to be heard.

As Shelby turned to face her, Annabeth involuntarily shivered. It was sometimes unnerving, staring into her eyes. Although they looked almost nothing alike, Annabeth and Shelby had the exact same stormy, gray eyes. Nobody else in the Athena cabin had those eyes. "He had a headache. He's back at the Hermes Cabin."

Annabeth nodded. "Did something happen?" she asked, her face serious.

At this point, Shelby knitted her eyebrows together in concentration. "It's about…that girl…" she struggled.

"Diana?" Annabeth helped.

Shelby's eyes brightened, as if she suddenly remembered something important. "Yes! Diana. That's just the thing, Annabeth. I can't remember anything about her. It's like she's absorbing all of the Mist around her. I think someone is hiding her. That's why we haven't noticed her until now," she said quickly, like she'd forget everything if she went any slower.

Annabeth shook her head. She had sent Shelby and Alex on a simple mission: to convince a fellow demigod to come to Camp Half-Blood. Suddenly, here Shelby was, claiming that Diana Louis was being hidden, and barely able to remember the mission in the first place. "Slow down," she said. "What do you mean 'hidden'?"

Shelby gave a frustrated sigh and continued pacing. "I can't remember… I know that Diana looked old. Thirteen years old, at least. Passed the age where her parent was supposed to claim her." She looked up at Annabeth. "But she had no idea what we were talking about. She looked…normal," she said.

Annabeth furrowed her brow. It was a well-known fact that the older a demigod got, the more monsters he or she attracted. If Diana had somehow mysteriously evaded attack… that was strange. She thought back to her discussion with Lily, the nature spirit who had found Diana. Lily had sounded unsure of herself when she mentioned Diana, as if she was having difficulty focusing on her. Could that have been the Mist's influence? Was there a possibility that she had made a mistake?

"There was definitely something off about Diana," Shelby added, as if reading her thoughts. "No regular mortal could've redirected that much Mist energy. Not even Rachel."

"Unless Diana wasn't the one who redirected the Mist," said Annabeth thoughtfully. She looked at Shelby intensely. "Shelby, this is very important," she started. "Was there anything nearby? Anything that looked like it didn't belong? Anything that stood out?"

Now Shelby seemed to really struggle. She looked like she was mentally beating herself up. "I…" she began. She closed her eyes tightly, and a sweat broke out on her forehead. Finally, she gasped and released her breath. Her face was slightly redder. She looked up at Annabeth. "I'm sorry, Annabeth. I don't remember much," she said.

Annabeth mentally screamed in frustration, but shaped her face into a look of understanding. Shelby had done the best that she could. Obviously, Annabeth would need to take her own team to check up on Diana. "Alright. Thanks, Shelby," she said. Then, she glanced at her watch. Diana would still be in school at this time. When dealing with a problem this big, the last thing Annabeth wanted to do was engage in a public confrontation. There was no telling what would happen, and somebody might get hurt. She sighed. But it wasn't like this could wait much longer.

She turned her back, preparing to go ask Percy to come with her, when Shelby spoke up. "There was a necklace…" she muttered.

Annabeth snapped her head back up. "What was that?" she asked.

Shelby looked up at Annabeth, her eyes suddenly clear. "Diana was wearing a necklace when we saw her. It wasn't anything special – just a gold coin attached to a black string. But it was radiating… something. I'm not sure, but the energy around that thing was all weird. I could sense it."

Annabeth nodded. That information could be important. "Thanks," she said. She turned around again.

"Wait," Shelby said behind her."

Annabeth sighed, and turned back to her. "What is it?" she asked.

"You're going after her, aren't you?" Shelby said.

"Yes. Why?"

"I want to come with."

Annabeth looked hesitant. "I don't want this to become a big thing. It might get out of hand."

But Shelby was stubborn. "I know, but if you're going to take anybody, you should take me and Alex. We've seen her before."

"You don't remember what she looks like," Annabeth pointed out.

Shelby sighed, a look of frustration passing over her face. "Please," she said. "There's something weird about that girl, and I want to know what." She stared at Annabeth, a pleading look in her eyes. "Please," she repeated.

Still, Annabeth was unsure. "I was going to ask Percy…" she said reluctantly.

"Then take him, too. We can all go."

Annabeth frowned. Shelby, Alex, Percy, and herself. Four people shouldn't be too many. Finally, she submitted. "Go get Alex," she said as she started to leave. "We're off in five minutes."

* * *

Wind howled in Annabeth's ears as they soared over the border between Maryland and Virginia. They had taken two chariots. Annabeth shared one with Percy, naturally, and Alex and Shelby followed close behind in their own.

Although she normally loved flying in the chariots, Annabeth was too deep in thought to enjoy the ride now. Her mind was wrapped around this Diana mystery. What was keeping her hidden? How powerful was it? And why keep a regular demigod a secret?

All of these questions whirled through her head as they neared Diana's school. According to Lily, she was in her last year in a middle school that was located a little ways south of Fredericksburg. She looked over at Alex and Shelby. Alex was scanning the ground, using his keen sight to pick out any buildings that stood out. Suddenly, his eyes widened.

"I think I found it!" he shouted at Annabeth.

"How can you tell?" she yelled back. He pointed down, and Annabeth looked at the school below. Her jaw dropped.

The building below was almost entirely consumed by a raging fire.

* * *

**A/N: Hope you liked this chapter! Please review!**


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